Canada Strips Patent Holder Rights In Amended Drug Export Bill

Law360, New York (April 21, 2004, 12:00 AM EDT) -- Canada has amended proposed legislation to allow domestic drug-makers to export generic copies of patented HIV/AIDS drugs to the developing world, stripping patent holders of the “right of first refusal'” over contracts negotiated between developing countries and Canadian generics manufacturers.

The changes to Bill C-9 (formerly known as C-56, or the Jean Chrétien Pledge to Africa Act) are designed to appease critics who had claimed the law would remove any incentive for generics companies to negotiate the contracts in the first place.